Global Finance News
08 May 2026, 09:24
Block Jumps 6.6% Pre-Market as Strong Quarter, Raised Guidance, and AI Transformation Win Over Investors
San Francisco, May 8, 2026 — Shares in Block, Inc. gained 6.6% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the fintech company reported a first quarter that beat guidance across every metric and raised its full-year outlook, while simultaneously presenting a compelling case that its aggressive AI-first operating model is already generating measurable business results.
Gross profit grew 27% year-over-year to $2.91 billion, with Cash App as the standout performer at 38% growth to $1.91 billion. Square grew a steady 9% to $982 million. Adjusted operating income of $728 million represented a 25% margin, and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.85 beat internal guidance. The company is now targeting full-year gross profit growth of 19% and adjusted diluted EPS growth of 62% — a substantial upgrade from prior guidance that gave investors clear reason to reprice the stock higher.
The AI narrative in the shareholder letter was unusually concrete for a technology company, and that specificity likely added conviction to the pre-market move. CEO Jack Dorsey disclosed that production code changes per engineer are up more than 2.5 times since January, incident rates after code changes fell over 70% year-over-year, and an internal AI tool called Builderbot is now reviewing over 90% of production code change requests and making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously. These are operational metrics, not aspirational claims, and they suggest Block is translating AI investment into real efficiency gains faster than peers.
On the consumer side, Moneybot — a proactive AI financial management tool within Cash App — is live and showing early promise, with Dorsey noting that customers who take AI-prompted actions return at dramatically higher rates than those who only receive information. Managerbot, which gives Square sellers real-time business intelligence, is available to over one million sellers ahead of U.S. general availability in June.
For a company that has navigated a challenging period of restructuring and investor skepticism, a quarter this clean combined with a 62% adjusted EPS growth outlook is a powerful reset of expectations.
San Francisco, May 8, 2026 — Shares in Block, Inc. gained 6.6% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the fintech company reported a first quarter that beat guidance across every metric and raised its full-year outlook, while simultaneously presenting a compelling case that its aggressive AI-first operating model is already generating measurable business results.
Gross profit grew 27% year-over-year to $2.91 billion, with Cash App as the standout performer at 38% growth to $1.91 billion. Square grew a steady 9% to $982 million. Adjusted operating income of $728 million represented a 25% margin, and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.85 beat internal guidance. The company is now targeting full-year gross profit growth of 19% and adjusted diluted EPS growth of 62% — a substantial upgrade from prior guidance that gave investors clear reason to reprice the stock higher.
The AI narrative in the shareholder letter was unusually concrete for a technology company, and that specificity likely added conviction to the pre-market move. CEO Jack Dorsey disclosed that production code changes per engineer are up more than 2.5 times since January, incident rates after code changes fell over 70% year-over-year, and an internal AI tool called Builderbot is now reviewing over 90% of production code change requests and making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously. These are operational metrics, not aspirational claims, and they suggest Block is translating AI investment into real efficiency gains faster than peers.
On the consumer side, Moneybot — a proactive AI financial management tool within Cash App — is live and showing early promise, with Dorsey noting that customers who take AI-prompted actions return at dramatically higher rates than those who only receive information. Managerbot, which gives Square sellers real-time business intelligence, is available to over one million sellers ahead of U.S. general availability in June.
For a company that has navigated a challenging period of restructuring and investor skepticism, a quarter this clean combined with a 62% adjusted EPS growth outlook is a powerful reset of expectations.